One Who Seeks 'Seisha Seichu'
by Numisma
Summary: [Inuyasha x Kagome] Though he swore to protect her, Kagome didn’t like the idea of always having to rely on him instead of herself. ONESHOT, set post episode 17, gift!fic for Tragicamente.


Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

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Kagome did not enjoy being referred to as a shard detector.

It implied that she had one use and one use only: detecting shards. And as a modern teenage girl it also made her feel like she had been referred to as an object rather than a person, somewhat akin to a metal detector or something similar.

Metal detectors weren't people; they were machines, objects to be used by other people.

Kagome was most definitely more than just a shard detector, though, and she had every intention of proving this to her jerk of a traveling partner, Inuyasha. While she was glad about his having steered the monk's affections away from her, there were other ways the hanyou could have done so. She almost wished he had simply posed as her "lover", as the monk had so wonderfully posited. At the time they didn't expect to ever have long term contact with him, let alone have him join their group. What would it have mattered? Would the monk have tried to rip apart what he thought were human/youkai relations?

But those were all inconsequential thoughts as of now, nothing but the end results of a 'what if' scenario, a road not taken. Kagome sighed and tried to clear her mind. She was supposed to be practicing her archery right now, but there was no way for her to concentrate if all her thoughts kept drifting back to Inuyasha and the things he'd said that were still bothering her.

The day she'd shattered the jewel - and earned the less than desirable responsibility of gathering all the missing shards, no less - he'd made a few more wisecracks than necessary about her inability to shoot an arrow. Oh, yes, here was his _real_ proof that she really wasn't Kikyou, because _Kikyou_ could actually hit whatever targets she aimed for. He'd never seen such a pathetic attempt in his lifetime! "My butt you can hit it," he'd drawled out about the carrion crow that had swallowed the jewel and had just made off with a young village boy. There'd been a bored look in his eyes as she nocked the arrow nonetheless and pulled the string back, the carrion crow's detached foot lightly twitching in place where it was tied to the arrow shaft.

Kagome didn't enjoy being petty. She honestly didn't. That wasn't the type of person she was. But at that time the only thing running through her mind was the urge to show him that amateur archer she may be, she wasn't completely useless. The easiest way to do so, and to shut him up, was to simply _hit the target_.

And she had, thanks to the foot's magnetism to its body. And that, of course, had also resulted in giving her an additional chance to prove her usefulness: by gathering the shards of the damn Shikon Jewel she'd just shattered with the very arrow she'd shot! Wonderful job, give her a round of applause!

But as Kagome was rarely a negative person, she had kept a positive outlook on the whole situation, and peacefully set out on whatever travels may come their way. She wasn't sure she could really say how far they'd come at this point, but judging by the paltry number of pinkish slivers that clinked in the small, corked glass bottle she always kept on her, she had to hope for the pace to quicken later on. There was school and its tests to deal with as well. She didn't have years to devote to shard chasing.

After speaking to Kaede about it, Kagome had decided that improving her archery was one of her many priorities here in the Sengoku Jidai. The miko from this time period traditionally practiced kyûdô, the art of the bow. Kagome herself, while not a true miko, had untapped miko powers. Although she was untrained when it came to these spiritual powers, and although there was no time for her to undergo much training of the sort, it would do her good to have some practical weaponry skills.

Inuyasha had his sword. Though he swore to protect her, Kagome didn't like the idea of always having to rely on him instead of herself. From what she'd heard, Kikyou, a master bow user, had fended off youkai in search of the jewel by the dozen, and Kaede's own archery skills were nothing to sneeze at. Of all the weapons openly available to her, she felt the most comfortable with the lightness, simplicity, and detachment of the bow and arrow. The decision was simple to make.

If it weren't for her necessary presence in the Sengoku Jidai so much, she'd have just joined the archery club at school. Instead, she chose the next best option: read a few books from the library and then practice, practice, practice!

At the moment the others were by their encampment. They weren't near any villages, and they wouldn't be for several days because of how far out they were. Somewhere even farther out was a shard; she could feel it. After eating an early dinner, Kagome had finished up her serving quickly, then slipped off with her bow and arrows. She had no premade targets to aim at, not even little sheets of paper with circles within circles printed on them, but at this point she felt she didn't need them, nor was dragging such large items on their journeys around practical. Her stance and endurance were more important. As long as she hit the tree she was aiming for, good enough for her. She'd worry about pinpoint accuracy later.

Accuracy in hitting your target was useless and unattainable if you didn't know how to shoot right. Correct shooting is correct hitting, or 'seisha seichu'.

Kagome closed her eyes and mentally kicked herself for allowing her thoughts to drift again. _Clear my mind, clear my mind_. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and walked forward until she was standing about seven feet from the tree in front of her.

_Ashibumi_. Kagome's feet found their rightful placement.

_Dozukuri_. Kagome verified her balance andthe alignment of her stance.

_Yumigae_: three stages of readying the bow. _Torikake_; she gripped the bowstring with her right hand. _Tenouchi_; she positioned her left for shooting on the bow's grip. _Monomi_; she turned her head to gaze at the tree, her target.

_Uchiokoshi_. Kagome raised the bow above her head, preparing to draw.

_Hikiwake_. Kagome began drawing the bow, bringing it down and spreading her arms while pulling back on the string until it came to her eyebrows.

_Kai_. Completing the draw with all the grace and smoothness she could muster, Kagome had the string pulled far past her ear, the arrow aligned just below her cheekbone.

She paused, drew in a breath, and stared at the tree trunk. For a moment a feeling of unease began to rise inside her, but she held her stance carefully and shut her eyes, waiting for it to pass.

She almost didn't want to release the arrow.

Almost.

But trees were the only suitable natural targets around here.

A soothing calm began to wash over her, and soon Kagome felt her distractions and anxiety drain away. Slowly she opened her eyes, focused her gaze on the tree, concentrated, and took another deep breath.

_Hanare_. Kagome's fingers released the string. The arrow shot forward and immediately sank into the trunk, a good distance off-center to the right. The bow spun in place until the string stopped barely forward of her outer forearm.

_Zanshin_. Kagome held her position a little longer, allowing her concentration to slowly dissipate. Rather than going for another arrow right away, she held it for an entire minute.

According to what she'd read, practicing on a target from such a minor distance first was important. She could work on refining her technique without worrying if her arrows would even hit. Looking at how 'good' she was so far, it looked like it would take "a lot more practice" before she could be confident about her skills.

But Kagome had no intention or initiative for completely perfecting them. Competency, sure, but not perfection. She didn't want to be perfect. From what she'd heard, Kikyou was perfect in her archery.

She didn't want to be seen as Kikyou. She didn't want to be mistaken for Kikyou. She was Kagome, and even reincarnations are completely different people.

She wanted to get that through Inuyasha's thick skull. She wanted for Inuyasha to be able to look at her and see Kagome.

Not Kikyou, not Kikyou's reincarnation, not _his shard detector_, but Kagome.

Kagome didn't have to be perfect to be useful and self-sufficient. She…

Kagome sighed and set went for another arrow.

She wanted him to protect her, but not because she couldn't take care of herself. She wanted it to be because _he_ cared about _her_.


End file.
